Monty Tech is seeking waiver to permit fees

FITCHBURG -- Should Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, as a public high school, enjoy the same rights as other Fitchburg public schools when it comes to building permits?

Officials from Monty Tech are hoping to come to an agreement with the city to either lower or waive building permit fees for construction work done at the school.

In a letter to Mayor Lisa Wong and the City Council dated April 5, Monty Tech Superintendent-Director Steven Sharek said the Monty Tech School Committee voted 21-0, with one abstention, to ask the city for a break on the fees.

Sharek noted that other Fitchburg public schools do not have to pay for building permits on construction work, though not all enjoy that same exemption. Monty Tech, on the other hand, must absorb these costs in the district budget, he said.

"On small projects, these fees may run into the hundreds of dollars. On large projects, such as the anticipated replacement of our roof, these fees will run into the tens of thousands of dollars, dollars the committee would much prefer to invest in the education of students," Sharek wrote.

Monty Tech School Committee member Tom Conry, one of the Fitchburg representatives and a former city councilor, abstained from voting on the matter. He said he did so because he wants to spare himself involvement in any related controversy that may arise. Conry said he previously had asked Wong if it were possible for the city to waive a building-permit fee when the school began renovation on its library and he was told that doing so would be illegal.

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He said he asked the question because the city is part of the Monty Tech school district, which has more than 300 Fitchburg students.

Conry declined to offer further comment, saying he wants to "steer clear" of the issue and "let it follow its course."

His fellow Fitchburg representative on the board, Robert Campbell, voted in favor of the measure. He said Monty Tech has about $10 million in projects that it needs to complete, including replacing its roof and ventilation systems, and he's hoping the school and the city can come to a mutual agreement.

"It's not like we're a private contractor -- we're a public facility that provides services to students in Fitchburg as well," Campbell said. "We're not looking for a total wash, maybe a decrease in terms of what they charge."

City Council President Jody Joseph said waiving the building permit fees for Monty Tech is "somewhat of a right thing to do," because it is a public school. He's not sure, however, what the rules and regulations are governing this realm.

"It's a good request," Joseph said. "We definitely will entertain the suggestion and what they have to say, and what city side says before we make a decision. I think it's a reasonable request. They've done a lot for us as well."

Councilor Joel Kaddy agreed. He's not sure whose authority the subject falls under, and said Wong hasn't budged from her position when the matter has come up in the past.

"Monty Tech does an awful lot of work for the city. They built the stone house at Coggshall Park, last year they did brickwork at the Senior Center, the ROTC kids do plenty of public events," Kaddy said. "It doesn't seem fair that we charge them for a building permit when we don't charge our own school system. I would just hate to have that come between us."

Councilor Stephan Hay said the difference with Fitchburg public schools is that the city owns those buildings. He said the matter is worth looking into. His concern, however, is that Monty Tech has several member school districts, and they would not be contributing to the cost, while Fitchburg loses out.

"Should Fitchburg be bearing the whole load of that?" Hay asked.

Councilor Jeff Bean said he's not entirely sure where he stands, but his first thought was similar to Hay's.

"All the expenses are shared, so how would the other cities be sharing in this? They wouldn't," he said. "My first impression is I'm not inclined to support the waiver."

Joseph said the matter would likely be sent to the Finance Committee for further discussion and to the Building Department for recommendation.

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